Autism. Conversation with Max

Bright Eyes came bounding down the stairs the other day to find his little brother playing with the Jenga blocks. Here's how the conversation went, with an analysis.

BE: "Jenga!" (he's noticing what his brother is doing and showing some interest)

Max: "I'm not Jenga!" (Misunderstanding what his brother is saying)

BE: "No, you're playing with Jenga blocks." (Sees that there has been a communication breakdown and takes steps to fix it for mutual understanding.)

Max: "No I'm not. I'm building a paddock." (It's clear in his mind what he's doing - and the blocks right now are being used for a specific purpose)

BE: "that's kind of cool. Do you want me to get you a horse? Which horse do you want?" (passes an opinion on what his brother is doing, and then adds his own contribution to the game, also taking steps to actually go and get the toys which would add complexity and enjoyment to the game.)

I post this because some of the classic 'autistic' traits are a) being unable to recognise or fix communication breakdowns, b) not sharing emotions, c) being unable to 'join in' or play in a way that isn't completely controlling.

All of these things are RDI objectives that we have worked on in the past, so it was really nice to see them all come together in that one exchange.